Friday's Defenseman Value Rankings
Here are theScore's defenseman value rankings for Friday, March 4:
Top Options
| NAME | OPPONENT | VALUE |
|---|---|---|
| Matt Niskanen (WAS) | vs. NYR | 9 |
| Seth Jones (CLB) | vs. EDM | 8 |
Niskanen has excelled all season long when John Carlson has been injured. This time around has been no different. Niskanen has one goal and two assists in four recent games without Carlson. He'll be facing a tired Rangers squad who may opt to rest Henrik Lundqvist.
Jones has five points, 20 shots and 15 blocks in his last nine games. He's logged huge minutes since being dealt to Columbus. Edmonton will likely start Laurent Brossoit, who has just two NHL games under his belt.
Best of the Rest
| NAME | OPPONENT | VALUE |
|---|---|---|
| John Klingberg (DAL) | vs. NJ | 7 |
| Andrej Sekera (EDM) | at CLB | 7 |
| Alex Goligoski (DAL) | vs. NJ | 6 |
Klingberg is reliant on points to return value, but they may be tough to come by with Cory Schneider between the pipes. Same goes for teammate Goligoski.
Sekera has 111 shots and 125 blocks on the season as of Thursday. He could very well find the score sheet against the Blue Jackets.
Nothing to See Here
| NAME | OPPONENT | VALUE |
|---|---|---|
| Kris Russell (DAL) | vs. NJ | 4 |
| Keith Yandle (NYR) | at WAS | 3 |
| Ryan McDonagh (NYR) | at WAS | 2 |
Russell's value hinges on his shot blocking ability, but that could take a serious hit with less minutes in Dallas. He played just 18:21 in his Stars debut compared to his season-long average of 22:47 in Calgary.
Yandle and McDonagh will play their second game of a back-to-back against the NHL's top team. Stay away.